Garment construction



May 25, 1937.

GARMENT CONSTRUCTION Original Fild May 21, 1935 r 4 I: /7 6 AT EY. 1

G. L. FIELDS I -2 ,081,426

Patented May 25, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE;

Application May 21, 1935, Serial No. 22,510

.- i Renewed August. 12, 1936 2Cl'aims. (01. 2-77) I The present invention relates to certain new anduseful improvements, in mens garment, the upper partlof which is an outergarment and the lower part of which is an under garment, whereby the single garment will make it unnecessary to wear anyother garmenteither beneath the shirt or a separate trunk. or shorts;

The present invention relates more particularly to certain novel ieaitnresroi construction in I combination garmentsof this eharacter, whereby the: utility of the garment is enhanced and whereby it' is made generally more desirable to the wearer.

Referring to the drawingi-n which like reference-characters indicatelikei parts,

Figure 1 represents a front perspective view of a garment embodyingthe present invention.

Figure'Z 'representsa rear perspective view of the same.

Figure afrepresents a'sectionon line 3-3 on a much enlarged scale r Figure 4 represents a'bo't'tom view of the gar merit, partly brciken away.

The garment oi the present invention is formed generally of three main bodyfpanels or sections, to wit, the rear or back section 5 and the two front sectionsB and Leachof which extends from the common shoulder part 8 of the garment to the bifurcated lower end 9 of the garment. The back section 5 is preferably seamless, that is, devoid of a central or median upright seam, and joins the front panels 5 and l on either side along the upright seams indicated generally at Ill and l l, respectively. The back panel 5 is shaped so as to be substantially wider across the top in the zone of the sleeves and near the shoulders, for instance, at l2, and also to be Wider across the bottom as at l3, but narrowed in the Waist zone as at M, and is preferably also provided with one or more pleats beyond the waist zone upwardly and converging towards the shoulder as indicated at i5, whereby the back becomes expansible across the zone of the arms or sleeves, so as to afiord greater freedom of movement to the arms.

The widened bottom as indicated at I3 is bifurcated slightly as at l6 to form the two short leg portions 11 and iB;--this bifurcation l6 extending upwardly in proximity of the lower end IQ of the front opening 20 of the garment;said front opening 20 being formed by the-usual overlapping portions provided with the conventional buttons and button holes.

The legs I! and I8 are completed by a crotch section 2| which is interposed between the lower edge 212 of the rear section-or back section 5 of the garment, andibetween the lower edge 23 of the front sections Stand L The crotch section 21 is characterized by its greater transverse width across its central portion 24, and its narrowing down towards its outer ends 25 and 26 where it terminates in the lower edges of the leg sections t1 and it.

A seat member of similar fabric is provided on the inside of the garment over an area encompassing the rearwardly widened portion of the crotch 2| and also encompassing the adjoining area of the back section 5 as indicated particularly in Figure 4;-this.section being sewed to the crotch section and to the back section along its unfolded edgesZB as indicated the broken away portions of Figure 4, by meansoi a line of sewn stitches 29'.

A generally curved opening 30 is provided in the trunkportiori oittli'e garment extending from a point 32 in substantially the middle of the back below the waistline and well above the crotch level laterally and downwardly to the point 3l at the bottom and side of one leg;-the path of the opening 30 or the line of the opening 30- being generally such as to be outside the seat zone of the garment at all points; so'that in the seated position of the wearer the wearer will not rest on the opening line 3| The marginal zones 33 and 34 adjacent to the opening line 30 are reinforced by being folded inwardly as at 35 and 36, and to these marginal zones the tapes 3'! and 38 of a slide fastener are sewn by means of lines of stitches 39 and 40. On the inside of the back panel and also along the zones marginal to the opening 30 shielding fabric strips 4! and 42 are sewn, also by means of rows of stitches 39 and and by the additional line of stitches 43 and 44.

The shielding strips are folded inwardly along their marginal zones 45 and 46 to provide a double thickness and therefore more or less form retaining lip which projects beyond the outermost row of sewn stitches 39 and 40, and overlaps the corresponding rows of metallic fastener elements 41 and 48 which are carried by the tapes 35 and 36, thereby to shield the body of the wearer from the metal;as indicated also in Figure 4.

Any operating slide 49 is provided intermediate the two rows of interlocking elements 41 and 48 5 whereby the same may be caused to engage and disengage in the well-known manner, thereby to open or close the rear opening 30.

By virtue of the widened bottom as indicated at l3 in the trunk zone of the garment, and by virtue of the opening 30, the garment is possessed of greater utility and convenience than the garments of this type made heretofore, while the narrowed waist zone as indicated at M, and the widened shoulder or sleeve zone as indicated at l2, provide for the adequate freedom of the arms without making the garment appear to be bulky or without detracting from the outward appearance of the garment or from the dress of the garment.

It will be noted that the opening line 30 extends upwardly from the lower end thereof along a line which is substantially on the outer side of the leg and then curves inwardly and upwardly above the seat zone.

The marginal zones 45 and 46 of the shielding strips, by virtue of the construction hereinabove explained, and hereinafter defined by the claim, are unfailingly maintained in smoothly underlying relation to the metal elements of the slide fastener, and hence protect the person of the wearer from contact therewith, even under the stress of hard wear and careless operation of the slide fastener. That is to say, the construction is such that the shielding strips will not become folded back from their operative position even though the wearer fail to pull the slide of the fastener accurately along the curvilinear line of opening 30, and notwithstanding any amount of heavy rubbing that these shielding strips may undergo while the garment is being laundered or worn.

The garment may be provided either with a neck band to receive separate collars or detached collars, or it may be formed with permanently attached collars, or it may be formed without any collar or collar band or it may be formed with out-turned lapel-like formations. Likewise, the sleeves and cuffs may also be of any desired construction, long or short sleeves, or the garment may be sleeveless.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms Without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is hereby claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A combination garment having waist, trunk and leg portions, said leg portions being united to form a permanently closed crotch, said garment having an optionally closed curvilinear rear opening extending from a point in substantially the middle of the back below the waist line and well above the crotch level laterally and downwardly to the bottom of one leg, at a side thereof, the cloth of said garment being reinforced along the edges of said curvilinear opening, an interlocking slide fastener having tapes secured to said reinforced edges, one on each side of said rear opening, and a fabric shield formed of two shielding strips one on each side of said curvilinear opening and each stitched to one of said tapes on the inside thereof, and to one of said reinforced edges and to the garment along a line removed from said reinforced edge and projecting each toward the other and underlying the inside of the metal of the fastener.

2. A combination garment having waist, trunk and leg portions, said leg portions being united to form a permanently closed crotch, said garment having an optionally closed curvilinear rear opening extending from a point in substantially the middle of the back below the waist line and well above the crotch level laterally and downwardly to the bottom of one leg, at a side thereof, the cloth of said garment being relatively limp and being reinforced along the edges of said curvilinear opening, an interlocking scoop type slide fastener having tapes secured to said reinforced edges, one on each side of said rear opening, and means for shielding the person of the wearer from contact by the fastener and for stiffening and defining the line of the curvilinear opening comprising a fabric shielding strip on at least one side of said curvilinear opening and stitched to said tape on the inside thereof, and to said reinforced edge and underlying the inside surface of the metal of the fastener.

GUILFORD L. FIELDS. 

